LEPIDOPTEROUS INSECTS 245 



it stops against the block; if this is at the proi)er dist- 

 auce, a piece will be cut off just long enough for the long 

 or narrow side of the drawer in making. Every piece 

 will then be of exactly the same length, without any 

 further measuring. The same is done with the narrow 

 strips until all the sides required are finished. 



For planing the strips to the correct width. I place 

 three of them in a sort of sledge or guide made of hard- 

 wood (Fig. 3), and without any marking off \ get them 

 all of the same width, and the sides are ready for planinsj 

 the groove in the bottom part and the tongue on the lid- 

 piece. For the making of these grooves and tongues ! 

 use a steel combination plane, which, by simply turning 

 one part of it over, can plane either a groove or a tongue. 

 This plane is much better than the Avooden one, it works 

 more correctly and allows of some adjustment. The ad- 

 justment of the bits of the plane is very important, as 

 with it the tongue can be made broader or narrower. 

 The tongue should be so that the lid-jiiece slides 

 freely without wobbling; still it should not be so stiff 

 that the pieces do not come easih^ apart. The groove 

 should not be deeper than the length of the tongue, if it 

 planes like this, one of the bits must be moved a little 

 upwards. The planing of these grooves presents no dif 

 ficulty, when one has an easy means of fixing the wood 

 during planing, and for that an apparatus, as illustrated, 

 will be found useful and can easily be made. (Fig. 4.) 

 The points of three nails are pressed into the wood, and 

 these fix the strip of wood into its place. AiAvays hold 

 the plane on what is to become the outside of the drawer. 

 Next the rabbet is planed in the lid-pieces to receive the 

 glass, and for this another apparatus is first made. (Fig 

 5.) Then the two pieces of wood can be fitted together 

 so as to plane the sides, which are to be the outer pat't 

 of the box. The inside surface of the wood is usuailj/ 

 smooth enough from the machine plane. As the ends 

 of the strips are slanting, it will again be necessary to 

 fix the Avood firmly with the projecting nailpoints. (Fig 



